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I think I've gotten most of the investigations and logs correctly posted.  There are probably still a few mistakes, so forgive our kids (they're still learning) and me or blame the copmuter for typos! (sic)   I'll likely add a few more posts with journal entries and observations soon, so feel free to check back later.

All the photos from our school photos are up as well.  STUDENTS:  if you have a photo that you'd like to add that isn't already up at piscasa, e-mail it to wpsdwildwest2011 and we'll try our best to get it up there.

THANKS FOR A GREAT TRIP.

Memories

Fun and Funny Tales from the Road

Ask us to tell you the stories!!!

* Principal KM & Nurse N’s nerves as we walked along a very precarious ledge in Bryce Canyon 

* JAM’s invisible video camera and JS’s missing charger

  

 EB and SS’s hair whipping around in the wind 

* The rock boys (MEP, GG &AC)

* ME squishing the salt and pepper rock formation

* KV's encounter with a squirrel

  

* JC's note-taking 

*KM playing the fiddle on the train

* Students dancing to fiddling music  (will try to add video)

* PH and AR looking cool in their matching white frame sunglasses. 

 *AM’s hobo costume (cowboy hat and shirt and ever-present pillow) (anyone have a better photo?) 

* KU’s tiger hat/mittens (a follow up to the panda hat she bought in NYC)
* MAP’s “yeah, I’m cool” photo poses

* DB being a deaf ambassador to a 12 year old girl from Ohio who wanted the chance to try her signing with a native user.  

* MG taking extraordinary photographs

* Competing with several basketball teams for food at the Golden Corral Buffet

* TS helping KV maneuver through crowded food lines

* ZR & TH trying to skip stones in the river

* AD’s singing

* Boys doing laundry in hopes of an extended curfew

* Rain in the canyon while the sun was shining brightly

San Francisco

San Francisco, Cali is a beautiful place. 

The city is full of friendly people. They are odd and different. Let us tell the story about one man in store. He is a clerk. He saw us using sign language and he didn’t speak. He wrote on paper for the price-- that is very nice. Those people know deaf people.  They are very respectful to other people. We saw few Indian women dressed up and colorful. The city has many people and much culture and they show it.

            The city is also different because it is colorful and busy. The homes are different sizes, designs and colors.   There are many stores and they are attractive. The restaurants are good and delicious. The cuisine is often seafood, and many come from China and Japan.  For lunch, Bud gave us tickets so we can choose a meal from the restaurants listed.  If students don’t want to eat at those restaurants then they pay their own money to choose other restaurants. For dinner we ate at the Rain Forrest Café.

  

            It was fun to look at the transportation. First we took a harbor cruse and saw the Golden Gate Bridge, The Oakland Bay Bridge, Alcatraz Island (and prison), and a dome left from a world's fair in 1915.   There was a small taxi that look like boat but it is a car.  There was a double deck bus.  There were people on bikes and Segways. 

We saw how they turned the cable cars around and while waiting, we saw about 15 of the active 40 cable cars.   We rode the cable car to see the city and look at different streets. Many people crowded in the cable car. Some of the roads in San Francisco are very steep.  Lombard street is dangerous, curvy, and very famous, but we only got to look over it from the top.  We did have a great view of the wharf as we rode down Hyde street.  

Noon photo: Saturday July 2, 2011

World famous San Francisco Cable Car.

Day 6: Saturday July 2, 2011

Weather:  cool, foggy near the bridge.
Temperature: 61º

Destination: San Francisco
Highlight: Harbor Tour and Cable Car Ride.
Scenery:    Bay, Wharf, Cityscape

Mileage:
      ~ 20 miles driving
    + 2650 miles flying  (SFO to ALT, ALT to PIT)
    + ? Steps walking

Breakfast: at Hotel
Lunch:  Meal of your choice from Voucher on Pier 39
Dinner: Rain Forrest Cafe

Revile: (time to get up!):  7:30
Curfew: PLEASE PLEASE sleep on the plane (the chaperons would like to take turns getting some sleep eye too!)

Noon Photo Day 5: Friday, July 1, 2011

We were all so excited about the aquarium we forgot to take a group photo today.  Oops!

Cannery row and Bubba Gump

On the way to Monterey our Bus Driver Mr. Ross talked about the strawberry fields along the highway. California is responsible for growing a lot of the USA supply. We saw harvesters picking food. California also grows large supplies of garlic and artichokes. They even sell garlic ice cream!

We spent the day at the aquarium.  First we walked around and later we had a behind the scenes tour.   We learned about the food they feed the fish:  krill, squid shrimp, and clam tongue.  Our tour guide talked about the 120,000 gallon shark tank. The fishes do not eat each other because they eat well everyday.  The sharks have never bit any person there. We were surprised when Traci told us how much time the workers spend time cleaning the tanks.  We also  got to see the sea otter family.  We were told the baby was found when he was one day old and was adopted by another adult otter.  She thinks it was her baby and is raising it.   The Monterey Bay aquarium has conservation programs with other zoos and aquariums.

After that, we walked along historic cannery row where they used to can fruits, vegetables and fish.  We ate at Bubba Gump, a restaurant in the movie Forrest Gump.

  

DID YOU KNOW?

Husbandry means work and help with animals.

Octopus can figure it out how an open a jar by itself. Octopus is very smart.

They put 200 pounds of seafood in storage a day.

Some fishes eat 11pounds a day.

Part of the outside aquarium have no roof they just have direct sun, some fishes can live up to 26 years.

Kelp can grow 12 feet per day!

Sheephead fish that start out as a female fish and then change into a male fish!

John Steinbeck wrote a novel called Cannery row about life in the town and its characters.

Monterey Bay is one of the most bio-diverse places in the world!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Today we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium. We saw a cute little baby otter pup that was 9 week old! Then we went to the Deep Reef and we saw a lot of random fish from Pacific Ocean.

While we waited for our interpreter, Sabine and tour guide, Traci, Michael saw a young guy who looks like Glenn Allen Guerin.  We went to meet the doppelganger and we have a picture to prove it.

            We met our tour guide and interpreter then we went to the feed room and learned about the food the feed aquarium animals: krill, anchovies, clam tongue, and shrimp. Traci dumped the krill in the tank and we ran to the other room. We watched a lot of fish eat the krill in the tank.

Traci guided us to the cleaning room and she told us how they clean the pipes that carry water. They use a special cleaning tool called the pig to clean the pipe from the tank to the main tank.  The pig looks like a bullet and is made of foam.  They clean the pipe every 6 months. Traci talked about the scuba diving and why they have to clean the tank.  She explained they used a special vacuum to clean the tank.  She said the water was very frigid like an ice water. When they finish clean the tank they can go to the hot tub!

  Traci showed us how they delivered the fish into the aquarium and there is a huge door, a large elevator, and also there a strong iron bar and stretcher that will carry a large fish into the tank. 

            We loved the aquarium! It was so beautiful, inspiring, and also we learned a lot of new things.

            We went shopping in along cannery row in Monterrey. We went into different stores so some student bought t-shirts, and other random things. Then some students went to the beach and we took quick pictures, and it was really frigid!  However we got out the water and there was sand all over our feet and legs.   It was fun to touch the ocean and learn about the organisms found in the bay.

Day 5: Friday July 1, 2011

Weather:  Sunny
Temperature: 63º

Destination: Monterey Bay
Highlight:  Aquarium
Scenery:  Ocean

Mileage:
               = 120miles driving
              + ? steps walking

Breakfast: at hotel
Lunch: healthy choices at the aquarium
Dinner: Bubba Gump

Revile: (time to get up!): 7:15
Curfew: (GO to BED!!!): 10:00